2017 Political Economy Seminar Series

Terrence McDonough (National University of Ireland Galway) ‘Trumpism, Critical Elections and Stages of Capitalism‘

Date: Wednesday 31 May 2017

Time: 1.30-2.30pm

Location: Centre for Classical and Near Eastern Studies of Australia (CCANESA) Boardroom, Madsen Building, University of Sydney

Abstract: Since the global financial crisis, elites have responded by doubling down on global neoliberalism.   This is the set of institutions which led to the crisis and does not offer a viable way forward for capital.  The Trump election represents a potential break with this strategy, but one with disturbing implications for working and oppressed peoples at home and abroad.  Critical elections following economic crises have contributed to enduring economic, political and cultural changes in the US past. These historical events must be considered in any evaluation of the future of “Trumpism” and the potential for effective resistance.  Social Structure of Accumulation (SSA) theory is a modern political economy approach to the construction and decay of stages of capitalism which lead to alternating periods of growth and crisis in capitalist history.  This presentation surveys the role of critical elections in the constitution of the monopoly SSA, the postwar SSA and the global neoliberal SSA in the US past. Fascism as a social structure of accumulation is briefly discussed and historical lessons are drawn for understanding the significance of the 2016 Trump election.

About the speaker: Terrence McDonough is Emeritus Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway and Honorary Professor of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. He has held visiting positions at Curtin University, Perth, University of Newcastle, Australia, Universite De Reims and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.  He has recently edited the two volume Social Structure of Accumulation Theory for Edward Elgar.  Previous books include Contemporary Capitalism and Its Crises: Social Structure of Accumulation Theory for the 21^st Century, edited with Michael Reich and David Kotz;  He has been on the editorial board of the Review of Radical Political Economics and is currently on the editorial board of the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education. His current interests include globalization, American and Irish economic history, political economy, the history of economic thought, and economics education for labour and community groups. He is on the Secretariat of the Galway City Community Network.